If you’re thinking about buying Floki Inu (CCC:FLOKI-USD), Edward Snowden has a word for you.
A patriot to some and a traitor to others, Snowden’s recent criticism about the meme coin phenomenon that has captured the imagination of cryptocurrency speculators is irony personified. After all, the developing team behind Floki Inu, while embracing the benefits of its memefication, insists that the underlying blockchain protocol should be taken seriously.
And it is being taken seriously, just not in the way that the developers wanted. Because of the way they marketed FLOKI, it will probably never foster the legitimate applications and ecosystem they’re aiming for. On the same token, everyone takes Snowden seriously. But the ones that are sternest about his ideology and actions want him behind bars for a very, very long time.
In a way, both Floki Inu and Snowden have become victims of their respective success. But onto the former intelligence analyst’s warning.
On a social media post, Snowden raised concerns about meme-coin compatriot Shiba Inu (CCC:SHIB-USD), describing it as a “clone of dog money.” Specifically, he tweeted the following:
I say this with love: if you got talked into exchanging your hard-earned savings for some new dog money because a meme said you’d get rich, please carefully consider your odds of outsmarting a market that sold to you its stake in not even dog money but a CLONE of dog money.
That’s not to say that Snowden is a crypto hater. On the contrary, he has praised Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) and recognized the importance of El Salvador’s groundbreaking ruling to recognize BTC as legal tender. His concern with Shiba Inu and likely other speculative assets like Floki Inu is that some folks are betting everything on digital garbage.
Floki Inu Also Provides Path to Crypto Sobriety
While I’m not exactly pounding the table for everyone to get onboard the crypto train, you also can’t call me a bear. I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about this but I’ll keep repeating it for the sake of new readers or for those who might get the wrong impression: cryptos have changed my life.
But the difference between me and the many charlatans that are out there in this decentralized community is that I’m not promoting myself as some kind of enlightened guru with a secret recipe to sell you for the low, low price of $99.99 (“But wait, there’s more…”).
My “research” is that I got lucky and that I’ll never stop marveling at how digital funny money bought me a house and a BMW (OTCMKTS:BMWYY). And honestly, the same thing can happen with Floki Inu. That’s the beauty of this meme coin — and it’s own cautionary tale.
The Floki Inu whitepaper is quite clear that it’s not a meme coin, it’s a movement. However, it does acknowledge that FLOKI has become a meme to its legions of supporters. At the same time, the developers are trying to foster utility for its underlying architecture.
Good luck with that. As of the time of writing, CoinMarketCap.com reports that over 14,000 cryptos exist — and the number keeps increasing. That FLOKI will somehow be the platform of choice compared to all these other coins and tokens is minimal to say the least.
But the more critical point is that Team Floki Inu is doing nothing to help its cause to be a legitimate blockchain network. Its whitepaper is a mess. But that’s what we should be celebrating. For once, we have a crypto project that’s willing to break the fourth wall and force its investors to appreciate the market’s absurdity.
Can’t Fault the Dog
Make no mistake about it: the intense speculation toward meme coins is going to end badly. I don’t mean to say the quiet part out loud but even legitimate cryptos could end badly as well. Let’s hope not but the possibility of this circumstance occurring is a non-zero number.
Despite the ominous nature of meme coins, I can’t fault the team behind Floki Inu for embracing the memefication. This isn’t one of those evangelism tricks where random people are seemingly invited to a free barbeque and then whoops: a lesson in carpentry ensues, so to speak.
No, Floki Inu is upfront about its protocol and ethos. Yes, the developers want this to be a legitimate decentralized ecosystem but it gives more than enough signals to demonstrate that its original intentions can fail and instead that your fortunes will depend solely on the greater fool theory.
Your life can certainly change with FLOKI. Whether that’s for the better or for the worse depends on how many people are willing to drink the Kool-Aid.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto held a LONG position in BTC. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
A former senior business analyst for Sony Electronics, Josh Enomoto has helped broker major contracts with Fortune Global 500 companies. Over the past several years, he has delivered unique, critical insights for the investment markets, as well as various other industries including legal, construction management, and healthcare.
